Lubricator pad



July l1, 1961 K R. E. MURRAY 2,992,051

LUBRICATOR PAD Filed June 17, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS R. E. MURRAY July 11, 1961 LUBRICATOR PAD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 17, 1957 ATTORNEYS United States Patent C Filed June 17, 1957, Ser. No. 665,947 1 Claim. (Cl. 308-243) This invention relates to lu-bricating means for the journal boxes of railway cars, and more particularly to lubricator pads which can be inserted and withdrawn from the journal box as a unit.

lt is well known in the art that the loose waste which has been used in journal boxes to carry oil from the sump in the bottom of the box to the journal has caused many diiculties in railroad operation. Among these have been carrying particles of waste into the bearing and comvpacting of the waste so that contact with the journal is lost. Either of these happenings is sufficient to result in a hot-box. Numerous suggestions have been made for the production of pads, but for one reason or another no really successful pad has been devised.

The object of the present invention is to provide a lubricator pad for journal boxes which is light-weight, compact, very easy to handle and yet will eiciently maintain a supply of oil at the journal surface at all times.

Another object is to provide such a lubricator pad which is resilient to permit free entry into the box and to assure continuous contact with the journal.

Still another object is the provision of such a pad having means to engage the inside of the journal box to prevent turning of the pad during rotation of the journal.

A still further object is to provide a lubricator pad which, despite close contact with the moving journal will not become glazed and ineffectual to transfer oil to the surface of the journal.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of practical embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, this specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of a lubricator pad constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation, partially in section, of a journal box with the lubricator pad of the present invention shown in section in position therein;

FIGURE 3 is a partial section through the box and journal with the pad in place, and is taken on the line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a modified pad structure;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the lubricator of FIGURE 4; and,

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6 6 of FIGURE 5.

In general, the invention pertains to a lubricator pad for journals having a core of resilient synthetic rubber or plastic material and an outer case of wicking material. Handles are provided for ease in inserting and removing the pad from the journal box, and the journal-contacting surface is provided with loops of textile material to prevent glazing.

Referring to the drawings in detail and rst adverting to that form of the invention shown in FIGURES l to 3, there is shown a conventional journal box 1 of the type used on railway cars. The box includes the usual housing 2, having a sump in the bottom forming an oil reservoir 3. There is a dust guard seat 4 and dust guard .5 at the inside, and the journal 6 with its bottom 7 projects .into the box. Bearing 8, held in place by wedge 9, rests .upon the journal in conventional manner.

The lubricator pad 10 is adapted to tit within the box,

ICC

between the bottom of the oil reservoir and the journal. The pad consists of the iiller pieces 11, of molded resilient material such as neoprene or polyurethane, covered by a casing material 12. The filler pieces are designed to tit side by side within the cover and are contoured to shape the iinished pad to the space into which it is to be placed. The bottoms 13 of the fillers are shaped to provide a matching curvature to that of the inside of the journal box, and the tops 14 to conform to the surface of the journal.

The cover 12 is composed of a transversely extending filler-encircling strip 15 joined along its edges to the end members 16 to form an enclosure. The strip 15, which forms the major portion of the casing, has its medial, transverse center line directly beneath the juncture between the two filler pieces and extends for that line in opposite directions across the bottoms of the filler pieces, around their outer edges and across their tops to the top juncture between the fillers. The remaining lengths of the strip forming ilaps' 17, are inserted between the adjacent faces of the fillers and extend to the bottom of the pad in contact with the bottom portion of the strip 15. The meeting sections of the strip 15 at the top center are joined by stitching 18.

The ends of the pad are reinforced by crescent-shaped pieces 19, stitched securely to the end members. These resist wear from the journal button and the tillet at the dust guard seat. Y

In order to facilitate positioning and removal of the pad, it is provided with heavily constructed straps 20 having their respective ends sewn in the bottom end seams and beneath the end reinforcements.

If the casing were permitted to be in sliding contact with the journal, it would soon glaze andbe inelective to transfer oil to the journal. In order to avoid this, the top of the pad is covered with loops 21 of textile wicking material. These loops pass thrugh the top of the casing only and are not connected to the iiller pieces in any way.

Due to the fact that the bottom of the pad is shaped to conform to the bottom of the journal box, there is some chance of the pad slipping under the fiictional drag of the rotating journal. To prevent this, stabilizers Z2 the secured along the sides of the pad. These may take the form of canvas covered ropes extending the full length of the pads and stitched thereto. These will be in wedging contact with the journal box walls and hold the pad firmly against rotative movement.

When the pad of the present invention is inserted into a journal box, it will rest upon the bottom of the box and be partly immersed in oil. The casing, being of good wicking material, will draw the oil to the top of the pad very rapidly. The oil will move up the sides of the casing and across the top. The central flaps will feed oil to the center of the top where it will llow out toward the sides. Thus, the entire top will be quickly saturated and resupplied with oil as quickly as it is taken off by the journal. The filler pieces are of cellular structure and will become filled with the oil up to the level in the sump. This will serve as a supply to feed the wick-like casing, and some oil will move upwardly to the top of the filler pieces by capillary action. Thus, the filler members will act as slow feeders while the casing will feed oil quickly to insure a constant supply at the journal.

Referring now to the modified form of the invention shown in FIGURES 3 to 6, the same reference numerals are used to indicate parts of the journal box as set out above.

The modified pad will be somewhat cheaper to manufacture than the one previously described, but will retain most of the advantages of the more expensive pad and have some features which are not present in the other.

The modied pad 23 also contains two illers 24, of resilient material, but the llers are rectangular in crosssection. This eliminates the cost of shaping the pieces, but gives the overall pad a rectangular shape. The fillers are covered `as before by a length of wicking material` 25. which extends across the bottom, up the sides and across the top and between the llers. In this form, however, the ends of the strip meet in a seam 26 along one side edge of the pa'd and an intermediate section of the covering material is tucked between the ller pieces in the form of a loop 27 which extends the full depth of the pad. The adjacent portions of the cover material at the base of loop 27 are joined by a line of stitching 28 to prevent separation of the sections. The bight 29 of the loop may or may not be joined to the adjacent side covering as desired. It is shown attached. The cover material used in this pad has its entire surface covered by loops 30. The opposite sides of the cover, that is,

4 a pair of ller members of resilient material of the same size and shape in side by side arrangement with the line of separation between them adapted to extend longitudinally of the journal when the pad is in place in a journal box, a cover in the form of a sheet of textile wicking material having its mid-'section extending across the bottoms of the ller members transversely of the line of separation between the members, with the sheet continuing around the side. edges of the filler members and across the tops of the ller members, with the ends of the sheet inturned between the ller members, at least one inturned end of the sheet extending downwardly between the ller members and lying in contact with the l mid-section of the sheet at the bottoms of the filler memthe top and bottom sections, may be joined together by means of cord loops 31 which pass through the filler members.

The modified pad, due to its shape and construction, will be reversible. Both sides are loop covered and, therefore, will not glaze if against the rotating journal. The rectangular shape and resilience of the fillers permits the pad to shape itself to the journal and box irrespective of the side uppermost. The wicking qualities of the lubricator will be substantially the same as with the pad previously described. The same combination of slow feeding resilient llers which hold cover material against the journal and fast feeding cover material is present. It has the same feature of edge and center wicks which provide rapid saturation over the entire top surface of the pad. The pad can be easily handled in placing it in and removing it from the box by means of the strap handle 32.

While in the above practical embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it will be understood that the structural details described and shown are merely by way of illustration and the invention may take other forms within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A lubricator pad for use in journal boxes comprising,

bers, means connecting the inturned ends of the sheet at their juncture at the top of the pad, whereby the cover forms a continuous wicking member around the outside of the pad and a wicking member centrally of the pad the full length and depth of the pad, and the cover holds the ller members against movement toward and from one another transversely of the pad, end panels secured around their edges to the edges of the cover to complete a casing entirely around the ller members, the pad being crescent shaped in transverse cross-section to conform to the journal and journal box with which it is to be used, a plurality of loops of wicking material attached to the cover across the top of the pad to provide a non-glazing top surface for the pad.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 264,251 Davis Sept. 12, 1882 2,089,664 Ripley Aug. 10, 1937 2,150,935 Miller Mar. 21, 1939 2,264,250 Shoemaker Nov. 25, 1941 2,571,235 Hamer Oct. 16, 1951 2,747,952 Harkenrider May 29, 1956 2,762,665 Harkenrider Sept. 11, 1956 2,807,803 Rockwell Sept. 24, 1957 2,827,346 Runton Mar. 18, 1958 2,859,074 Dilg Nov. 4, 1958 

